Photograph any position, get a FEN you can actually use
You're staring at a position on a real board — a game in progress, a puzzle in a magazine, a setup a friend just showed you — and you want to drop it into an engine. Typing it out square by square is slow and error-prone. ScanChess skips all of that. Take one photo and get a clean FEN string back, ready to paste straight into Stockfish, Lichess, or Chess.com.
FEN is the universal language for a single chess position. One short line of text captures exactly where every piece sits. Once you have it, the whole world of online chess analysis opens up. New to the format? Read What is FEN? for a quick primer.
How it works
- Snap a photo. Point your camera straight down at the board so all 64 squares are visible. A clear, glare-free shot gives the best results.
- Let ScanChess read it. Our recognition engine detects the board, identifies each piece, and builds the position automatically.
- Copy your FEN. Review the recognized board, confirm it looks right, then copy the FEN string and use it anywhere.
That's the whole flow — usually just a few seconds from photo to FEN.
What you can do with the FEN
- Analyze it instantly. Paste the FEN into any engine and find the best move, evaluate the position, or check for tactics.
- Share it with anyone. Send the FEN in a message or post so others can load the exact same position on their own board.
- Set up a puzzle. Save interesting positions as training material and revisit them whenever you want.
- Continue a game. Load the FEN into Lichess or Chess.com and keep playing from where the real board left off — against a friend or the computer.
Because FEN is supported everywhere, that single string travels with you across every chess tool you already use.
Stop typing positions by hand
A photo is faster than fiddling with a board editor, and far less error-prone than reading off coordinates one piece at a time. Whether you're studying, coaching, or just curious about a position, ScanChess turns the board in front of you into something every engine and platform understands.
Want to go further than single positions? See how to digitize your chess games — from handwritten scoresheets to full PGN with move validation and interactive replay. ScanChess works on the web and as a WeChat mini-program, and you get free starter credits to try it out. Bring a board into focus and let the FEN come to you.